Incident ResponseThe National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.https://ncsfreedom.org
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:58:27 +0000en-gb2014 Incident Reporting & Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/742-2014-incident-reporting-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/742-2014-incident-reporting-response-report.htmlIncident Reporting & Response - 2014 Report By Susan Wright NCSF’s Incident Reporting & Response helps people who are being discriminated against because they are kinky and/or nonmonogamous: 184 requests for help were received in 2014. One-fourth of the cases evolved into weeks- or months-long projects, requiring the education of a number of legal, medical and mental health professionals about kink. Other professionals who requested information or resources to better serve kinky people included: academics, social services, vanilla nonprofit organizations & events, authors, merchant services, and insurance brokers. The drop in IRR requests can be partly attributed to the increased page views on NCSF’s Kink Aware Professionals database, with over 1,200 kinky people directly accessing KAP in 2014 to find a lawyer, therapist or other professional rather than asking NCSF for help through Incident Reporting & Response. Recognizing the need for more professionals to be listed in KAP, in 2014 NCSF joined forces with GayLawNet, a free referral database of gay-friendly attorneys. GayLawNet also began offering a Kink Aware Professional category for their lawyers to self-identify as kink aware. Of the 184 requests for assistance, the majority dealt with BDSM while only 6 involved polyamory/swing issues: 73…]]>Incident Response ReportsSun, 28 Dec 2014 20:30:32 +00002012 Incident Reporting & Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/741-2012-incident-reporting-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/741-2012-incident-reporting-response-report.html2012 Incident Reporting & Response Program Report In 2012, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 60 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF received 474 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. More than half required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least 2 of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly matched. 137 were requests regarding SM/abuse/domestic violence/assault issues including criminal complaints regarding consent and protective orders 76 were regarding criminal complaint issues 14 were regarding employment discrimination 87 were regarding child custody/divorce…]]>Incident Response ReportsSun, 28 Dec 2014 20:28:40 +00002011 Incident Reporting & Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/692-2011-incident-reporting-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/692-2011-incident-reporting-response-report.html2011 Incident Reporting & Response Program Report In 2011, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 40 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF received 630 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. More than half required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least 2 of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly matched. 112 were requests regarding SM/abuse/domestic violence/assault issues including criminal complaints regarding consent and protective orders 135 were regarding criminal complaint issues 27 were regarding employment discrimination 115…]]>Incident Response ReportsThu, 10 May 2012 16:26:04 +00002010 Incident Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/655-2010-incident-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/655-2010-incident-response-report.html Incident Response Program? 2010 Report Submitted by Leigha Fleming____________________________________________________________ In 2010, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM?leather?fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 40 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF's Incident Response team is directed by Director Leigha Fleming. In total, over 482 individuals, groups, attorneys, prosecutors, and businesses contacted NCSF for help in 2009. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects. ? NCSF received 526 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. ? 307 required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least 2 of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly…]]>Incident Response ReportsSat, 26 Mar 2011 18:51:09 +0000Swing Partyhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/566-swing-party.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/566-swing-party.htmlBack in June, 2008, we had set up a great private party for swingers. The plan was to have it at a local bar, the owner was going to close it for just our group. Lots of us had plans on eating dinner at the fine-dining restaurant above the bar, and many had rooms reserved in the hotel. The owner knew what type of group we were, and had no problems in having us. Shortly before the party, the local Borough Council President 'found out' about the party and contacted the local paper. Next thing we know, the paper comes out on Wednesday, we're on the front page. The party was set for Saturday night. Now, most Swingers want complete anonymity, and it was rumored that the media would be there "in disguise" mingling thru the party and possibly some waiting for us to arrive. So, we felt it necessary to cancel our party to protect our guests. The NCSF Incident Response team found out what had happened, contacted the local paper and helped them understand what we were trying to do, and how this affects us. My husband and I (as the party hosts) were unable to…

Incident Response

Rights

Swing

Advocate

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 18:28:58 +0000 New York Leather Weekendhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/565-new-york-leather-weekend.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/565-new-york-leather-weekend.htmlWhen we applied for a street fair permit for an outdoor leather festival, we were met with tremendous opposition from a very vocal member of the local community board, implying that Leather people belong behind closed doors and out of the public eye where children and others could see them. Not knowing how to handle this, I immediately contacted the NCSF for their help in this matter. After speaking with Susan Wright at the NCSF, I was more than armed with important information and a long list of our rights, feeling ready to face not only the community board but the local press with confidence and knowledge. Because of a ten minute conversation the NCSF, not only were we awarded the street fair permit for the event, but the community board voted unanimously in our favor. In addition, the NCSF made sure they were on hand at the Leather weekend, meeting with the media, making sure we came off looking good in the public light. Our event could not have happened without the experience and support of the NCSF and we are very thankful an organization such as this exists. Robert Valin Executive Producer New York Leather…

Swingers

Opposition

Susan Wright

Street Fair

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 18:19:28 +0000The Floating Worldhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/564-the-floating-world.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/564-the-floating-world.htmlAs Director of one of the largest BDSM/Fetish educational events in the country - The Floating World, I have had numerous occasions to work with people from NCSF in assuring the event goes off with minimal friction. They have offered invaluable advice on dealing with municipal authorities and have been very helpful in dealing with an always-prying media. Susan Wright of NCSF has been our media relations expert from the beginning, and has done wonders in keeping us out of the media circus spotlight. One particular case was when a reporter from The Star Ledger newspaper decided our event was excellent human interest material, even though we explained clearly that we wanted no press. Susan spent much time on the phone and in person with this very determined reporter and managed to expertly turn the focus away from us. She did her best to get the story canceled, but when the Editor wouldn't have it she did excellent damage control, injecting positive elements into the story and delaying the release of the article until AFTER our event, avoiding a flood of curiosity seekers and other media looking for their own stories. What could have easily been a media…

Susan Wright

The Floating World

Media

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 18:01:27 +0000Winter Wickednesshttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/563-winter-wickedness.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/563-winter-wickedness.htmlPlanning a larger kink event like Winter Wickedness is stressful enough, without adding in efforts to shut it down by the Radical Right. Although we recognized an effort such as this is largely based on misinformation and people’s fear of the unknown, we had invested significant amounts of time, effort and capitol, and were unwilling to be swayed by biased attempts to cancel the event. With two weeks left before opening day, we heard that a local Christian radio station had done an inflammatory story on our event. Subsequently, the host hotel began receiving a smattering of calls from the listeners demanding the event’s cancellation. We initially contacted the NCSF to consult with their specialists as a preparatory step, in case this was picked up by the mainstream media. A week later, the Radical Right had discovered their efforts were not producing the desired effect. They stepped it up and began contacting the mainstream media, the local authorities, including the health dept, the fire marshal, the local police dept, etc – in an effort to bring more pressure. We again reached out to the NCSF, which had Susan on the case, and Robin coming in for the event.…

SSC

Susan Wright

Media

Winter Wickedness

Radical Rights

Action Alert

WIITWD

Adentures In Sexuality

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:59:16 +0000Kinky Kollege and SINSations in Leatherhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/562-kinky-kollege-and-sinsations-in-leather.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/562-kinky-kollege-and-sinsations-in-leather.htmlEvery year, Leather SINS produces two national BDSM events in Chicago: Kinky Kollege and SINSations in Leather. Ever since the Concerned Women for America attacked five Midwest BDSM conferences in 2002, Leather SINS has consulted with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom to ensure that our events would not face the same problems if we were attacked by religious political extremists. Leather SINS has consulted with NCSF about a variety of issues while producing our events. We asked Susan Wright to accept the position as our media spokesperson, posting her phone number on our website so she can respond instantly to any media inquiries. Susan checks every page of our website for each event, looking for statements and phrases that may need clarification or may possibly cause problems if taken out of context by the media. Leather SINS has gratefully named NCSF as one of our "WE CARE!" charities (along with LA&M). We're proud to be a Coalition Partner of NCSF, and would urge any group to take advantage of NCSF's knowledgeable Incident Response program consultants when producing an event. In leather heart and soul, Master Z Leather SINS President & Event Director

BDSM

Incident Response

SINSations

Kink Kollege

Coalition

Media

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:54:07 +0000TES Fest 2008https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/561-tes-fest-2008.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/561-tes-fest-2008.htmlSusan Wright of NCSF held the positions of Public Relations Director and Media Spokesperson for TES Fest 08, a 700-person weekend event over the 2008 July 4th weekend hosted at the Radisson Hotel in Piscataway NJ. This TES event, like the previous one, had the challenge of establishing a working relationship with a new venue and a new town. Susan continued to be a great ambassador for us as she met with the hotel, police and fire departments and did a spectacular job with helping us to forge a new set of relationships. She also, along with her vast resources at NCSF, helped research all relevant laws in the new town we were in to ensure that our event was in total legal compliance. In particular, she also performed admirably at-event in interfacing with the local law enforcement personnel which we hired as auxiliary security staff. We owe Susan a hearty "Thank You" for a series of 4 TES Fest's that were trouble free! -Jeff Director, TES Association Executive Director, TES Fest 08

Susan Wright

TES

Laws

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:49:19 +0000Paddles, New York Cityhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/560-paddles-new-york-city.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/560-paddles-new-york-city.htmlSusan Wright of NCSF has helped Paddles, the BDSM nightclub here in NYC, tremendously in the various issues we have encountered over the last few years involving all applicable laws/policies and interfacing with the local community. With NCSF's resources and her own years of expertise, she has worked diligently with us to research the health code regulations in NYC and how they affect an alternative sexuality nightclub such as ours. She has also done extensive work with us towards the goal of the city removing and/or amending its "anti-sex club" policies which has created an environment which makes it challenging for Paddles, a legal BDSM nightclub establishment, to operate in. She has also helped us understand and stay in compliance with all other regulations that would affect a club such as ours. Susan is a great asset to have "on our side" who is always available to lend us assistance. Thanks for all the help, Susan! -Jeff. Manager, Paddles

Susan Wright

Nightclub

Antisex

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:41:47 +0000Folsom Street Fairhttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/559-folsom-street-fair.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/559-folsom-street-fair.htmlFor over a year now, Folsom Street Events has been under attack by anti-gay and religious right groups from across the country. The attacks have been relentless. They have threatened our major sponsorships, picketed our events, called upon public officials to denounce us, and rallied their troops against our community. As a small organization with only two staff members, we do not have the capacity to stand up and respond to these continuing assaults. We contacted the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom to access the Incident Response program. Within hours, we spoke with a highly trained and knowledgeable media and PR consultant for support. In addition to her moral support, we received a meticulous training for our Board of Directors and staff, preparing us to better manage these attacks. Also, the program consultant was able to field all media inquiries - and serve as a positive voice for our community - during our events, so that we could focus on our production duties. We can't thank NCSF enough for their good work and for being there when we needed them. Demetri Moshoyannis Executive Director Folsom Street Events

Incident Response

antigay

religious rights group

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:26:01 +0000Catalina Loveshttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/558-catalina-loves.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/558-catalina-loves.htmlMy relationship with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) began like many others do. I was neck deep in a conflict that was based in my free expression of my sexuality through my writing. I was asked to leave my teaching position, an agreement was reached and I left quietly without creating a scene. I used to teach in a small, private school in North Carolina, where my daughter also attended school. When I left my teaching position I was assured that it would not affect her last and final year of middle school. Months passed, and we were within days of her returning to the 8th grade when I received a call from the Head of School that he had decided to rescind his offer to allow her to go to school there. After heated debate, he agreed that she could attend school, but if and only if I could secure a $1,000.00 expense fee to cover her field trips and lunches in advance. It was a bullshit fee, to be honest. It’s not required of any other parent. He knew that we would not be able to come up with $1,000 in a matter of days. This…

Incident Response

KAP

custody

Community

Children

]]>Incident Response TestimonialsTue, 08 Mar 2011 17:04:33 +0000Incident Reporting & Response Mission Statementhttps://ncsfreedom.org/key-programs/incident-response/ir-program-mission-statement.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/key-programs/incident-response/ir-program-mission-statement.htmlThe NCSF Incident Reporting & Response Team's purpose is to provide assistance to individuals and groups within the alternative sexual expression communities who become victimized by actions of local authorities in opposition to the freedom of expression of SM, leather/fetish, or swing practices. The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF)’s Incident Reporting & Response (IRR) Program uses three primary criteria for taking a case: The issue must openly, directly, and specifically relate to BDSM, swing or poly activities between consenting adults; in other words, the problems you face must relate to or be caused from your involvement in BDSM, swing or poly without question. The issue must be one whose outcome or precedent could affect not just the individual filing the complaint, but potentially a significant number of people with the same, or similar, problem. The incident needs to have a reasonable chance of a successful resolution; usually indicating that the individual filing has not also been found guilty of a crime other than behaviors currently considered illegal relating to BDSM, swing or poly.

Mission

Incident Response

Freedom

Incident Reporting

IRR

IR

]]>Incident Report ArticlesSun, 06 Mar 2011 22:40:07 +0000What Is Incident Reporting & Responsehttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response.htmlNCSF's Incident Reporting & Response was created to provide assistance to individuals and groups within the alternative sexual expression communities. If you engage in SM, fetish, swing or polyamory practices, and are being persecuted or discriminated against because of it, please contact NCSF. If your group or business is being harassed by religious political extremists or if you need help doing outreach to your local law enforcement, please contact NCSF. GET HELP NOW! The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF)’s Incident Reporting & Response (IRR) Program uses three primary criteria for taking a case: The issue must openly, directly, and specifically relate to BDSM, swing or poly activities between consenting adults; in other words, the problems you face must relate to or be caused from your involvement in BDSM, swing or poly without question. The issue must be one whose outcome or precedent could affect not just the individual filing the complaint, but potentially a significant number of people with the same, or similar, problem. The incident needs to have a reasonable chance of a successful resolution; usually indicating that the individual filing has not also been found guilty of a crime other than behaviors currently considered illegal relating to…

]]>Incident Report ArticlesSun, 06 Mar 2011 17:33:58 +0000Incident Reporting & Response Testimonialshttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/538-incident-response-testimonials.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/538-incident-response-testimonials.html Every year, NCSF helps hundreds of people, events, groups and businesses that are being persecuted for their association with the BDSM, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF is here to help you -- the SM, swing, and polyamory communities. If you have a problem with discrimination, persecution, or harassment because of your sexual expression, please contact NCSF for assistance. The following are statements from events, businesses and individuals NCSF has helped.

Community

Rights

SM

Legal

Advocate

]]>Incident ResponseTue, 31 Aug 2010 05:21:51 +00002009 Incident Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/496-2009-incident-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/496-2009-incident-response-report.htmlIn 2009, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 40 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF's Incident Response team is directed by Director Leigha Fleming. In total, over 482 individuals, groups, attorneys, prosecutors, and businesses contacted NCSF for help in 2009. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects. NCSF received 482 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. 337 required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least 2 of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly matched. 11% were requests regarding SM/abuse/domestic violence issues 36% were regarding…

Incident Response

Rights

]]>Incident Response ReportsFri, 07 May 2010 09:42:36 +00002008 Incident Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/490-2008-incident-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/490-2008-incident-response-report.htmlIn 2008, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 40 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF's Incident Response team is directed by Director Leigha Fleming. In total, over 500 individuals, groups, attorneys, prosecutors, and businesses contacted NCSF for help in 2008. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects.NCSF received 489 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. 317 required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least 2 of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly matched. 11% were requests regarding SM/abuse/domestic violence issues 27% were regarding criminal…

Civil_Rights

KAP

Poly

Advocate

]]>Incident Response ReportsThu, 02 Jul 2009 12:08:25 +00002007 Incident Response Reporthttps://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/487-2007-incident-response-report.html
https://ncsfreedom.org/incident-response/item/487-2007-incident-response-report.html In 2007, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) again took the lead in defending the rights of individuals and groups in the SM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities. NCSF's coalition of over 50 educational and social groups is committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF's Incident Response team is directed by Director Leigha Fleming. In total, over 640 individuals, groups, attorneys, prosecutors, and businesses contacted NCSF for help in 2007. Each incident sometimes required only one or two phone calls, but some evolved into much larger projects. NCSF received 647 distinct inquiries/requests for assistance. 341 required more than one contact/response to resolve, often requiring multiple contacts. It is difficult to categorize many incident requests as clearly falling into one camp or another. Many overlap in categories. For example, many of our custody/divorce related issues involve at least two of our core constituent groups (i.e. SM/leather/fetish and poly for example). In trying to do a statistical breakdown of the requests, we placed it in the category it most clearly matched. 12% were requests regarding SM/abuse/domestic violence issues 23% were regarding…]]>Incident Response ReportsTue, 09 Sep 2008 12:56:22 +0000